About us

Australia is a sporting nation. We watch sport, we play sport, we love sport. From the Boxing Day Test to footy finals fever, from early mornings paddling out at breaks around the country to park runs in hundreds of cities and towns.

But climate change is threatening the sports we love.

In the wake of the Black Summer bushfires of 2019/20 we decided sport had been on the sidelines on climate for too long. The climate crisis was beginning to be felt across the country, including in the sports we play and love, and so FrontRunners was born.

Co-founded by Emma and David Pocock and Lachlan Crombie, and with the addition of founding board members Rebekah Giles and Joe Hedger, our small team set about scoping out the lay of the land and building relationships across the sports ecosystem.

Two years on FrontRunners work has seen us pioneer a first-of-its-kind campaign;, The Cool Down, support the formation of player-led climate movements like Footy for Climate and Cricket for Climate and provide advice and support across the sporting world, from athletes and associations to clubs and governing bodies.

Our work is just beginning as we aim to accelerate sports climate leadership in the decade that really matters.

Meet the team

Emma Pocock

CEO, Co-founder & Director

+

Eloise Wittkowsky

Deputy CEO

+

Nicola Barr

Decarbonising Sport Lead

+

David Brice

Operations Manager

+

Rebekah Giles

Chair

+

Joe Hedger

Director

+

Lachlan Crombie

Co-founder & Director

+

Arj Ganeshalingam

Director

+

Amy Steel

Strategic Advisor

+

Craig Foster

Strategic Advisor

+

Fiona De Jong

Strategic Advisor

+

Martin Rice

Strategic Advisor

+

Ana Ross

Strategic Advisor

+

Anthony Arrow

Strategic Advisor

+

David Lindenmayer

Strategic Advisor

+

Campaigns we support

From our own campaigns to powerful player led movements and incisive reports exploring the connection between sport and climate, discover the projects we’ve supported.

Learn More

Discover our services

We do the heavy lifting to understand how sport is threatened by the climate and environmental crises. Discover our services for athletes, player associations and sporting organisations.

Learn More
From wherever we are, FrontRunners is proud to acknowledge the traditional custodians of country throughout Australia, and recognise their continuing connection to this land, its waterways, and the stars in the sky, since time immemorial. It is our privilege to pay respect to their Elders, knowledge holders, and to all the generations of First Nations’ peoples who have nurtured this land for over 80,000 years and continue to do so today.
Go to home page arrow